The High Republic publishing initiative will be coming to an end, four and a half years after it began. And it will end in much the same way it started: with a novel written by Charles Soule.
Soule, who penned Light of the Jedi to launch this brand new era in 2021, has written Trials of the Jedi, which will release on June 17, 2025, to end it. We’ve now been given our first look at this final novel, including the cover and synopsis. The publisher description for the book describes how the Jedi, still unable to “solve the mystery of the Nameless creatures who feed on the Force”, launch a last-ditch effort: a team of nine Jedi, led by Avar Kriss and Elzar Mann, travel to the Nameless homeworld. “Their quest: to finally solve the mystery of the Nameless and their connection to the Force, and to stop the blight before its damage becomes irreversible.” Of course, we would expect this final story in the High Republic era to include the mastermind behind all of this evil, Marchion Ro, and it sounds like “a final confrontation” with him is in store, as he “is willing to sacrifice everything he’s achieved to secure a final victory against the Jedi and carve his name into the very stars for all time.”
And, as if the stakes weren’t evident enough from all of that, the publisher’s description concludes: “Nothing less than the fate of everything, perhaps even the Force itself, is at stake.”
I’ve been a huge fan of the High Republic books and comics and the story that’s been unfolding, which is set around 200 years before the events of the prequel trilogy. it’s introduced us to the Jedi at their best, telling of their desperate attempts to stop a galaxy-wide threat launched by the pirate Nihil gang and their leader, Marchion Ro – which includes the Nameless, mysterious creatures who feed on the Force itself and pose a dire threat to the existence of the Jedi. I’m very excited to read the ending of this era. There will be a lot to wrap up, but Charles Soule has done terrific work before and I trust that will continue. This story sounds thrilling, and I can’t wait to read it this summer.
“Trials of the Jedi is an epic”, Soule said in a statement to io9 promoting the book. “The stakes are as high as they could possibly get—the Jedi we’ve come to know and love are facing an impossible challenge that could end with not just the destruction of their Order, but the galaxy as a whole,” Soule said in a statement provided to io9. “The Jedi and their allies step up to defend the light even when all around them is darkness. I wrote it to grab readers from page one and never let go. It’s intense stuff; a tale of great heroism and sacrifice.”
We’ll get to read all about it on June 17 when Trials of the Jedi wraps up the High Republic era.
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